At the close of third day of the 3rd Test match between India and England at the Rose Bowl, the visitors were reeling on 323 for eight.
At the close of third day of the 3rd Test match between India and England at the Rose Bowl, the visitors were reeling on 323 for eight in reply to England’s imposing first innings 569 for seven declared, still 246 runs behind and needing a further 47 to avoid the follow-on.
This could have been avoided if the Indian batsmen could have played some rational shots.
Besides the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and the battling MS Dhoni, none of the top order batsmen could muster up a fight against a renewed English bowling attack which was led by Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
But the biggest disappointment of the day came when Virat Kohli played a loose stroke and was send back to pavilion. Southpaw Shikhar Dhawan too played a callous shot on Day 2 final session and seems like; he would be dropped from the remaining matches.
Virat Kohli has played 3 Tests so far and managed to score a paltry 73 runs in England at an average of 14.60. After his flop start in the England series, Kohli came under much criticism for his ‘off the field’ sagas but former India great Sunil Gavaskar lend his support to the Delhi star. In an interview to news channel Gavaskar said, “I think batsmen go through lean patches and I am hoping that these two Tests have been that lean patch for him. Virat is a quality player. It is just a matter of luck going his way. The ball that he left today could have just probably grazed past the stumps but this one came in, which is very rare.” Though Kohli has managed some runs under his belt in the 3rd Test, he still looks short on confidence and might need some ‘sessions’ with Indian batting icon, Rahul Dravid. With India’s series stake on the line, the visitors would hope that Kohli gets back into the run-scoring groove and gets his ‘mojo’ back!
Shikhar Dhawan is another name that is being cropped up in the line of failing to score runs. With the likes of Gautam Gambhir waiting in the wings, Dhawan failed with the bat and in thus couldn’t repay the faith that MS Dhoni and management have showed in him so far. His poor form with the bat is a mirror image of his debut season against Aussies last year. The Delhi southpaw has managed just 85 runs in 5 inns at an average of 17.00 in 2014. Dhawan can be an explosive batsman, on his day, but after a series of dissatisfaction, the former could have played his last Test series.
There might be still a shining light at the end of the dark tunnel for these two batsmen if unless they go ‘gung ho’ in the 2nd innings of the 3rd Test.
India can still save the match and it would even great, if these two batsmen make their point!
